It Is Not The End Of Days: East Coast Tsunami Warning A Mistake

by Amy Brooks

It's possible that after the Patriots Super Bowl loss, this whole weird Malcom Butler thing, Gronk's rumored retirement and then finally a shocking tsunami alert on your phone this morning you'd feel like it is the end of days, but alas it is NOT here, (yet).

The National Weather Service said this morning that the tsunami alert for the East Coast that many of us recieved on our phones was a “routine test message” , it was not meant as an actual warning.

Oops.

Omg after what happened to the poor people in Hawaii last month who truly thought they were being nuked, (so much so they were saying their good byes, professing their sins and saying their hail Marys), you'd think these alert generated services would have a new protocol on these types of warnings. i mean no thanks to the false alerts. This is NOT a public service announcement. Argh!

Anyway, on a more serious note... the National Weather Service has issued not only a retraction but an explanation.... but most importantly it's emphasizing there is no tsunami threat to the region.

We have been receiving reports that an erroneous tsunami alert across New England. Please note there is NO TSUNAMI THREAT FOR New England.

Here's the official statement they issued on the false tsunami alert:

There is no tsunami threat. The National Tsunami Warning Center of the National Weather Service issued a routine test message at approximately 8:30 am ET this morning. The test message was released by at least one private sector company as an official Tsunami Warning, resulting in widespread reports of tsunami warnings received via phones and other media across the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. We’re currently looking into why the test message was communicated as an actual tsunami warning, and will provide more information as soon as we have it.

Officials are being notified that there is no threat.

“The test message was not disseminated to the public via any communication channels operated by the National Weather Service.”

huh? Is that supposed to make us feel better?

The National Tsunami Warning Center, part of the National Weather Service, issued a routine test message at approximately 8:30 a.m. ET this morning. The test message was released by at least one private sector company as an official Tsunami Warning, resulting in reports of tsunami warnings received via phones and other media across the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. The test message was not disseminated to the public via any communication channels operated by the National Weather Service. We’re currently looking into why the test message was distributed by at least one private sector company, and will provide more information as soon as we have it.